Adult employees - employees aged 21 or over, or those who are paid at the full adult rate.

Reference: Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia (cat. no. 6306.0).

Age pensioners - people receiving full or partial age pension excluding associated wife's or carer's pension. Between 1 July 1995 and 2012, the qualifying age for age pension eligibility for women is gradually being raised from 60 to 65 years. At 30 June 1997 the qualifying age for women was 60.5 years.

Reference: Centrelink, DSS Customers: A statistical overview.

Aged - population meeting age criteria for the age pension at 1 July 1995 (men 65 and over and women 60 and over).

Reference: Estimated Resident Population by Sex and Age: States and Territories of Australia(cat. no. 3201.0).

Consumer price index - a measure of change over time in the retail price of a constant basket of goods and services which is representative of consumption patterns of employee households in metropolitan areas.

Disability support pensioners - persons receiving a pension due to a physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment of 20% or more, resulting in a continuing inability to work or be retrained to work 30 hours or more per week within the next two years.

Reference: Centrelink, DSS Customers: A statistical overview.

Disposable income - gross income less personal income tax (including the Medicare levy).

Reference: Income Distribution, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0).

Employees - all wage and salary earners who received pay for any part of the reference period.

Reference:Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia (cat. no. 6306.0).

Equivalent income - disposable income adjusted, using simplified Henderson equivalence scales, to allow comparison between different types of income units. The scales reflect assumptions about how different characteristics e.g. size and composition, relate to the amount of income different types of income units need to achieve an equivalent standard of living.

Reference: Income Distribution, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0).

Female/male ratio of mean total full-time adult earnings

Reference: Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia (cat. no. 6306.0).

Full weekly benefit income received by a couple with two children - the maximum weekly social security benefit (including family allowances) available to an adult couple, with one child aged under 5 years and one child aged between 5 and 13 years. Excludes any rent assistance which may be available.

Reference: Department of Social Security, unpublished data.

Full-time employees - employees who usually work 35 hours or more a week, or the agreed hours of a full-time employee.

Reference: Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia (cat. no. 6306.0).

GDP (gross domestic product) - an aggregate measure of the value of economic production in a year. The series used are the average (GDP(A)) based on 1989-90 prices and the income-based measure, (GDP(I)) calculated using current prices. All GDP figures refer to GDP(A) except where GDP(I) is specified.

Reference: Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5204.0).

GDP(I) spent on income support - special appropriations under the Social Security Act for income support as a proportion of GDP(I).

Reference: Department of Social Security, Annual Report.

Gini coefficient - an index for measuring inequality of income distribution. The index, always between 0 and 1, is low for populations with relatively equal income distributions and high for populations with relatively unequal income distributions.

Reference: Income Distribution, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0).

Gross income - cash receipts, that are of a regular and recurring nature, before tax or any other deductions are made.

Reference: Income Distribution, Australia(cat. no. 6523.0).

Gross State product - a similar measure to GDP but based on State income estimates.

Reference: Australian National Accounts: State Accounts (cat. no. 5220.0).

Household disposable income per capita - where household disposable income, as measured in the Australian National Accounts, is household income less income tax and other direct taxes, fees, fines etc. charged by the government, consumer debt interest and transfers overseas. The population used is the mean resident population for the financial year.

Reference:Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5204.0); Australian National Accounts: State Accounts (cat. no. 5220.0).

Income unit - one person, or group of related persons within a household, whose command over income is assumed to be shared. Income sharing is considered to take place between married (registered or de facto) couples, and between parents and dependent children.

Reference:Income Distribution, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0).

Main income source from government payments - government pensions or allowances form the largest component of usual income.

Reference: Income Distribution, Australia(cat. no. 6523.0).

Managerial employees - adult managerial, executive and professional employees who are in charge of a significant number of employees or have significant responsibilities in the conduct or operations of the organisation and who may not receive payment for overtime.

Reference: Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia (cat. no. 6306.0).

Mean total weekly earnings - average total weekly earnings of employees including ordinary time earnings plus overtime earnings.

Reference: Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia (cat. no. 6306.0).

Mean weekly ordinary time earnings of full-time non-managerial adults

Reference: Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia (cat. no. 6306.0).

Median weekly income - the level of weekly income at which half the income units have higher incomes and half have lower incomes.

Reference: Income Distribution, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0).

Ordinary time - employee's agreed hours of work including annual leave, paid sick leave and long service leave.

Reference: Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia (cat. no. 6306.0).

Personal income tax as a proportion of taxable income - net income tax levied on individuals (including the Medicare levy minus rebates and other credits) expressed as a percentage of taxable income (i.e. gross income or profits minus allowable tax deductions).

Private final consumption expenditure per capita- expenditure on goods and services by persons and private non-profit institutions serving households. Includes personal expenditure on motor vehicles and other durable goods and the imputed rent of owner-occupied dwellings. Excludes the purchase and maintenance of dwellings by persons and capital expenditure by unincorporated businesses and non-profit institutions. Private final consumption expenditure per capita data are expressed in Australian dollars at constant 1989-90 prices and are based on the mean resident population of each year.

Reference: Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5204.0).

Share of gross/equivalent income going to top/bottom quintile - share of gross/equivalent incomereceived by the 20% of income units with the highest/lowest incomes.

Reference: Income Distribution, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0).

Sole parent pensioners - recipients of the sole parent pension. In 1989, the supporting parent benefit and A class widow pensions were combined to form the sole parent pension. Figures prior to 1989 include these two pensions.

Reference: Department of Social Security,Annual Report.

Unemployment allowees - the number of recipients of unemployment benefit prior to 1991 and of Job Search allowance, Newstart allowance and Youth Training allowance since then.

Reference: Department of Social Security, Annual Report.

Wages and salaries as a main source of income - wages and salaries form the largest component of usual income.

Reference: Income Distribution, Australia (cat. no. 6523.0).

Wages, salaries and supplements as a proportion of GDP(I) - includes wages, salaries and employer contributions to superannuation, lump sum workers compensation, termination and redundancy payments.

Reference: Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product(cat. no. 5204.0).